Patriots' Brady finally goes home

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady gestures during Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks in Foxboro. AP PHOTO

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FOXBORO -- Tom Brady grew up a San Francisco 49ers fan.

Brady was in the stands at Candlestick Park in San Francisco when Dwight Clark hauled in "The Catch" from his boyhood idol Joe Montana for the winning touchdown with 51 seconds remaining in the 49ers' epic victory over the Dallas Cowboys in the 1982 NFC title game.

During his 17-year NFL career Brady has played in 230 games, completing 5,074 passes for 59,663 yards and 440 touchdowns. He is a four-time Super Bowl winner, two-time league MVP and an 11-time Pro Bowl selection. Brady, a native of San Mateo, Calif., has done just about everything a future Hall of Fame quarterback can do, expect play a football game on his "home turf" against the club he pledged his allegiance to as a kid.

That will change Sunday when the struggling 49ers (1-8) play host to the New England Patriots (7-2), who will be looking to rebound from a loss to the Seattle Seahawks, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara at 4:25 p.m.

Believe it or not, during Brady's time in New England the Patriots have only played in San Francisco once, beating the 49ers, 30-21, in 2008. Unfortunately, Brady suffered a season-ending knee injury in the 2008 opener against Kansas City and Matt Cassel quarterbacked the Patriots to that win in the city by the bay.

Although the 49ers no longer play in Candlestick (which has been demolished), or San Francisco for that matter, this game still means plenty to Brady.

"I've never had a chance to play in front of my family like this," said Brady.

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"I've never had a chance to play in front of my friends. Growing up in the Bay Area and loving football, it was a great time for me to grow up and see the success of the 49ers and the great quarterbacks, Steve (Young) and Joe (Montana) and what they were able to do.

"I was lucky to grow up in the Bay Area at that time and I always remember it being all the Super Bowl rallies and my mom taking me out of school and banging pots and pans on the El Camino after they would win Super Bowls. Those memories never go away."

Including Brady's memory of "The Catch."

"Yeah, I was, I think four years old and my parents brought me," said Brady. "I cried. I wanted one of those foam fingers and I cried the entire first half. Finally, my dad bought me one to shut me up for the second half. I think I have a picture of it.

"It was just great. I remember we were on the opposite side of the stadium, and I started crying when everyone jumped up and screamed at the end when Dwight made the catch."

The 49ers are scheduled to honor former owner Eddie DeBartolo at halftime Sunday and many of the Brady's childhood heroes will be in attendance.

"Those guys are part of the reason why I love the game," said Brady. "It was a lot of great timing for me to grow up in a time when the 49ers were playing so great and the quarterbacks were so great. They had so many great players and I loved them all. I still do.

"I think those memories that you have growing up stick with you, and I'm sure stick with a lot of kids who grew up in the Bay Area during that time. I'm still fans of all of those guys and it would be cool to see them."

Since beating the Los Angeles Rams in their opener, the 49ers have lost eight straight. Still, Brady expects to get 49ers' best effort in his homecoming.

"I think any time we play a team, we're going to get their best shot and I'm sure they're excited about playing this week," said Brady. "We are too. I don't think you take any team lightly because all these teams are so talented.

"They've been close in a lot of games. They've had a lot of leads in these games, they just haven't closed them out. So we're going to have to go start fast, try to play with the lead, and try to get ahead and stay ahead if we can."

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